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87-460: Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo originally consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle , both of whom were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, while Gessle had been the lead singer and songwriter of Gyllene Tider , a band which had three number one albums in Sweden. Acting on the advice of Rolf Nygren,

174-473: A country music -inspired version of "It Must Have Been Love" in a Los Angeles studio, and recorded new material in various locations around the world – an empty dance club, a hotel room – and compiled everything on to the album. Released in October 1992, Gessle and Fredriksson said Tourism was meant to "capture the energy within the band". The first single off the album was " How Do You Do! " followed by

261-404: A record contract or record deal ) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and promote. Artists under contract are normally only allowed to record for that label exclusively; guest appearances on other artists' records will carry a notice "By courtesy of (the name of

348-411: A $ 100 million deal with BMG to deliver just six albums, the largest recording deal at the time. Robbie Williams signed an £80m (US$ 125m) contract with EMI . For many other artists, though, for the millions to become tangible , hit albums meeting or exceeding their previous sales figures must follow. Recording contracts may include opt-out clauses for the label in the event an act's popularity dips or

435-737: A 600-page discography book titled The Look for Roxette was released, which included a four-song EP of previously unreleased material. The release of The Ballad Hits was delayed until Valentine's Day 2003 in English-speaking territories such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In January 2003, Roxette received the Litteris et Artibus ("Culture and Education") award from King of Sweden Carl Gustaf XVI , for "achievements in Sweden and internationally". The Ballad Hits sold over

522-456: A Nice Day "...another clever-clever bastard of an album which defies Doctor Rock." A review of "I Wish I Could Fly" written by Håkan Steen of Aftonbladet said, "The come-back single is a disappointment. The lyrics, which convey a sense of distance in a relationship, are not particularly engaging." The album, according to Billboard magazine, was under discussion for release in the US, but ultimately, it

609-683: A comeback in continental Europe. It entered at No. 1 in Sweden and No. 2 in Germany. The first single, " Wish I Could Fly ", became their highest-charting UK single since 1993 (No. 11). In Sweden it charted at No. 4, their best position since "Sleeping in My Car". Although the second single, " Anyone ", did not chart well in Europe, " Stars ", the third single, charted well in Scandinavian and German-speaking countries. NME ' s review called Have

696-437: A company that is out of business (and thus cannot sell or distribute their records), and with their existing works unavailable for sale. When one label "buys out" another (or a label is purchased by an outside party), any existing copyrights and contracts held (and masters, if owned by the label) normally go with the sale. This often benefits recording artists, but not always. Distribution deals are often renewed, but occasionally

783-760: A compilation of demos, B-sides and remixes, alongside some of the 1993 MTV Unplugged material, was released in Japan and parts of South America under the title Rarities . Gessle briefly reunited with Gyllene Tider in 1996, then Roxette took instrumental masters of many of its ballads and recorded translated Spanish lyrics over them. The resulting album, Baladas En Español , sold well in Spanish-speaking regions, reaching 2× platinum in Spain and platinum in Argentina. The single " Un día sin ti " ("Spending My Time") accompanied by

870-441: A copy of Look Sharp! home for the 1988 holiday break. He gave the album to a Minneapolis radio station, KDWB 101.3 FM. The station started playing "The Look"; based on positive caller feedback, the song became very popular, and quickly spread to other radio stations. The song became a radio hit before any Roxette product had been commercially released or promoted in the US market. The story was covered by radio, newspapers and TV in

957-521: A damn good song. I thought Per and Marie would fit together because Per writes very good music and Marie can sing the phone book and it sounds good. Of course, I'm a little proud that I was the one who came up with the idea for Roxette." —EMI Sweden CEO Rolf Nygren in 2001 Around this time, the CEO of EMI, Rolf Nygren, suggested Fredriksson and Gessle collaborate together to record a song in English. Fredriksson

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1044-587: A million copies within a year, and was the best-selling album released by a Scandinavian act that year. The duo received a World Music Award for the Best Selling Scandinavian Artist in October 2003. "They were a legitimately popular band, but they don't fit neatly into the story of American pop music. The Swedish duo wasn't a boy band like New Kids on the Block , they weren't glammy enough to be hair metal , and vocalist Marie Fredriksson didn't have

1131-546: A profit, and do not tend to concern themselves with a given performer's lack of business or financial savvy, as artists such as George Michael have discovered. "Walking out" on a deal is very difficult, as is attempting to strike a new deal without completing an old one. Donna Summer signed a new deal with Geffen Records in 1980, and released two albums on Geffen. She was then told by her previous label, Polygram Records , that she owed them another album, per her agreement. She recorded and delivered an album to Polygram that

1218-445: A punitive measure, if an artist fails to comply with their contract, or as a strategic measure if negotiations for a new one prove difficult.) Record labels can also become bankrupt like any business, and their masters and copyrights sold or traded as part of their assets. (Occasionally these are purchased by the artists themselves.) Recording artists signed to a failed label can find themselves in limbo, unable to record for anyone but

1305-481: A shortened 10-track Favorites CD in association with McDonald's . The Favorites of Crash! Boom! Bang! CD reportedly sold about 1 million copies. It was noted by journalists that the McDonald's promotion CD (and other CDs by Tina Turner , Garth Brooks and Elton John ) led to US music retailers of the time being unhappy with the promotion for several reasons, including that it bypassed established music stores and that

1392-411: A single. In the duo's native Sweden, " Dressed for Success " and " Listen to Your Heart " were chosen as the first two singles from their second album Look Sharp! , as Gessle and EMI Sweden chose to highlight Fredriksson's singing. Gessle said, "I always thought we should promote the songs Marie sang. Me being a lead singer wasn't part of the plan, not for me anyway." Both singles reached the top 10 of

1479-528: A video directed by Jonas Åkerlund , became their first Latin Pop Airplay chart entry. The duo then released solo albums, I en tid som vår ( In a Time Like Ours ) by Fredriksson and The World According to Gessle by Gessle, with both charting in Sweden. Gessle and Fredriksson reunited in 1998 to record material for a new Roxette album, Have a Nice Day , which was released in February 1999 and gave Roxette

1566-424: A year, much too long, endless hours of studio time... I mean, I loved it but there was too little P-O-P." Roxette, on the first playback of Crash! Boom! Bang! Roxette changed their musical style with the 1994 release of Crash! Boom! Bang! Bryan Buss of Allmusic wrote, "They rock harder than on their pop-friendly albums prior to this, and the result shows growth but not the fun that made them so popular in

1653-558: Is licensed exclusively to the label for a set period of time. Promotion is a key factor in the success of a record, and is largely the label's responsibility, as is proper distribution of records. While initial recording deals usually yield a smaller percentage of royalties to the artists, subsequent (or re-negotiated) deals can result in much greater profit, or profit potential. A few acts, such as Madonna , Michael Jackson , R.E.M. , U2 , and Janet Jackson , among others, have signed multimillion-dollar deals. Whitney Houston signed

1740-523: Is a noun-adjective that music critics often use in reference to guitar pop with a bright mood. Critic Philip Auslander argues that the distinction between pop and rock is more pronounced in the US than in the UK. He claims that in the US, pop has roots in white crooners such as Perry Como , whereas rock is rooted in African-American music influenced by forms such as rock and roll . Auslander points out that

1827-405: Is a risk the label endures as it does not know how well the act's album will sell. Capitol Records suspended Linda Ronstadt 's contract in the early 1970s, as Capitol had spent more money on Ronstadt then it had yielded. She continued to tour partly to pay Capitol back for her 1960s deal, and a string of hits in the mid-1970s allowed her to finally clear the debt. Record companies expect to make

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1914-470: Is an exciting, immediate, high-gloss pop gem that contains very little filler indeed." Per Bjurman from Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet was critical of the album. "It is not very good." he wrote. He did praise the three singles, " Real Sugar ", " The Centre of the Heart ", and " Milk and Toast and Honey ", but he ended the review with the prediction: "Roxette is not finished. But soon, I suspect." The album topped

2001-438: The CEO of their mutual record label EMI , Fredriksson and Gessle collaborated to record " Neverending Love ", the first single from Roxette's 1986 debut album Pearls of Passion , which were both hits in Sweden. Their international breakthrough came with the release of Look Sharp! in 1988. The album contained two Billboard Hot 100 number ones: " The Look " and " Listen to Your Heart ". " It Must Have Been Love ", from

2088-567: The Hot 100 as well as at No. 3 in Australia. "Listen to Your Heart" was released thereafter; it differed from previous singles and instead resembled the guitar-heavy ballads of Heart . Spending a single week at No. 1 in the US in November 1989, it bore the distinction of being the first US Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 not to be commercially available on 7-inch vinyl. A fourth single, " Dangerous ",

2175-528: The Join the Joyride tour into 1992. It was during this tour that most of the material for Tourism: Songs from Studios, Stages, Hotelrooms & Other Strange Places was recorded. Instead of releasing an album of brand-new material, Gessle and Fredriksson re-mastered older recordings, including several slated for, but not included on, Look Sharp! and Joyride . They also recorded some of their live performances, recorded

2262-546: The Swedish singles chart , while the album, which was released in Sweden in October 1988, held the No. 1 position for 14 weeks. Music critic Måns Ivarsson was underwhelmed by the album, writing derisively: "To consist of two such original persons as Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, the album sounds unbelievably conventional. Most striking are the lyrics. Gessle's once so subtle Swedish lyrics have became desolate English nonsense." However,

2349-455: The soundtrack to the 1990 film Pretty Woman , reached number one as well, as did the lead single of their third studio album, 1991's Joyride . That album is Roxette's most successful, selling eleven million copies worldwide. They performed to over 1.5 million people during the " Join the Joyride! Tour ". Subsequent albums included 1992's Tourism , 1994's Crash! Boom! Bang! , and 1995's greatest hits compilation Don't Bore Us, Get to

2436-499: The 1960s, Frith termed it "folk rock", and the pop-infused styles of the 1970s were called "pop rock". Moore-Gilbert claims that this approach unfairly puts rock at the apex and makes every other influence become an add-on to the central core of rock. In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau discussed the term "pop-rock" in the context of popular music's fragmentation along stylistic lines in

2523-418: The 1970s; he regarded "pop-rock" as a "monolith" that "straddled" all burgeoning movements and subgenres in the popular and semipopular music marketplace at the time, including singer-songwriter music, art rock , heavy metal , boogie , country rock , jazz fusion , funk , disco , urban contemporary , and new wave , but not punk rock . Record contract A recording contract (commonly called

2610-595: The 2002 Night of the Proms concert series. After waiting several weeks for the fracture to subside, she underwent surgery to remove the malignant tumour, followed by months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment . Fredriksson was unable to speak for a considerable period of time afterward, and for the rest of her life was unable to read, was blind in one eye, and had limited hearing and mobility. Roxette issued two greatest hits compilations, The Ballad Hits in late 2002 and The Pop Hits in early 2003. On December 1, 2002,

2697-624: The Chorus! , which each sold at least five million copies worldwide. Have a Nice Day and Room Service were released in 1999 and 2001, respectively, and earned numerous gold and platinum awards in Europe and Latin America . Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2002, leading to an extended hiatus. The two then released several solo albums, with Gessle also reuniting with Gyllene Tider. Roxette reformed in 2009 for an extensive world tour , which ran until 2016. During this period, they released

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2784-572: The German part of the 1994/95 tour. In October 1995, Roxette released their first greatest hits compilation, Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! This reached the top 5 in many European countries, including the UK, as well as the top 10 in Australia . The compilation sold 6 million copies worldwide, and featured four new songs, three of which were released as singles, including the ballad " You Don't Understand Me ", co-written by Desmond Child . Also that year,

2871-517: The Hot 100 in June 1990, three months after the film's release, and stayed for two additional weeks at No. 2, spending a total of seventeen weeks in the top 40. Billboard named the song the No. 2 Hot 100 single of the year, behind Wilson Phillips 's " Hold On ". The single also topped the charts in more than 20 other countries (including Australia) around the world. In Germany the single spent 9 months in

2958-496: The Joyride! World Tour 1991/92 tour eventually reached more than 1.5 million fans in 107 concerts around the world, including a few dates in the US. On reviewing their Universal Amphitheater performance, Dennis Hunt of the Los Angeles Times said, "Fredriksson is squandering her talents in pop's low-rent district. She's clearly superior to Roxette's uncomplicated, hook-crammed material..." "I believed this ("Spending My Time")

3045-506: The Northwest." In a 2009 interview with BBC News , Gessle highlighted the popularity of Nirvana and grunge music as a contributor to Roxette's downturn in success. Although Roxette's commercial momentum in America was slowing down dramatically, elsewhere, singles from the Joyride album continued to become hits when "Spending My Time" and " The Big L. " charted in many countries. Roxette continued

3132-450: The States we suddenly found ourselves lumped together with bands like Heart and Starship , which wasn't the intention behind Roxette at all. But we got out of that one... I hope." Gessle, talking about "Listen to Your Heart". "Dressed for Success", featuring Fredriksson on lead vocals with Gessle singing short parts, was the second international single. The single peaked at No. 14 on

3219-548: The Swedish charts and reached No. 3 in Germany, but it received little attention in the UK. A planned US release through Edel America Records did not happen as the label was disbanded due to financial difficulties, though it did peak at No. 2 on CNN 's Worldbeat album chart. The first single , "The Centre of the Heart" topped the charts in Sweden, made the top 10 in Spain, and the top 15 in Finland. The other singles, "Real Sugar",

3306-500: The UK television premiere of the film Pretty Woman , "It Must Have Been Love" was re-issued in September 1993 and entered the UK and Irish singles charts for the second time. "MF: It was just before Christmas '93 and we were listening to the first playback of the Crash! Boom! Bang! album and realized we were all missing something. It all sounded so... perfectly grown up. PG: We had worked for

3393-570: The US and in Sweden. Fredriksson dismissed rumors that Cushman was paid to take the record to the radio station. EMI had previously rejected Roxette as unsuitable for the American market and they did not have a recording contract there, but after the popularity of "The Look" in the US, EMI officials made the decision to release and market the single worldwide. "The Look" and pressed copies of Look Sharp! were issued in early 1989 to record stores and radio stations. "The Look" became their first No. 1 in

3480-483: The US charts. In late 1991, the band was honoured with its own postage stamp in Sweden, along with Lena Philipsson and Jerry Williams . Music tastes in the U.S. were changing, with the emergence of new genres such as new jack swing , grunge , harder-core rap and hip-hop . As William Ruhlmann of AllMusic later wrote, "Americans probably lost interest [in Roxette] at about the time that Nirvana came roaring in from

3567-478: The US on 8 April 1989, where it remained for one week. The breakthrough for Roxette became international when the song also topped the charts in 25 other countries, and at the end of the year, Billboard named "The Look" one of the 20 biggest Hot 100 singles of the year. "The Big Bad Ballad. This is us trying to recreate that overblown American FM-rock sound to the point where it almost becomes absurd. We really wanted to see how far we could take it. When it hit big in

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3654-593: The US, reaching No. 1 in Germany and Sweden, No. 2 in the UK as well as peaking at No. 3 in Australia. The album sold 6 million copies worldwide. The duo's success reflected in an ECHO Award nomination for International Group of the Year. At home, Roxette won a Rockbjörnen Award for Best Swedish Group. It remains the last Rockbjörnen the duo received. In October 1992, Fredriksson released her first solo album in Swedish for five years, titled Den ständiga resan ( The Eternal Journey ). In early 1993, Roxette became

3741-604: The US. The single also charted well in the UK, and achieved success in Canada, which resulted in the song being nominated in 1992 for a Juno Award in the category, Best Selling Single by a Foreign Artist. Its follow-up, " Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave) ", a power ballad similar to "Listen to Your Heart", with Fredriksson on lead, spent a week at No. 2 in the US in July and achieved success in other big markets as well. Roxette then embarked on an ambitious worldwide tour. The Join

3828-440: The United Kingdom alone, spending several weeks at #1. There are plenty of examples of recording contracts available in music business guides, legal texts and also online. When recordings go out of print, this typically happens because either the label has decided that continuing to sell (or distribute) the record will not be profitable, or the licensing agreement with the artist has expired. (Labels may also stop distribution as

3915-603: The United Kingdom, where the British Phonographic Industry awarded them certifications of over three million units. In the US, they achieved four number ones on the Billboard Hot 100 , and have been certified for sales of over three million units by the Recording Industry Association of America . Since 2021, Gessle has released music under the name PG Roxette ; their debut album Pop-Up Dynamo!

4002-462: The act releases non-hit albums under the deal. For instance, Mariah Carey was dropped by Virgin Records and her $ 100 million recording deal cancelled after her first album released by the label sold poorly. Record companies put forth huge sums of money to produce, release, and promote an album. Recording time, manufacturing, packaging, photos, distribution, marketing, and music videos are just some of

4089-403: The album won Roxette their first Rockbjörnen awards in Sweden and Gessle his first Grammis award in the category Best Composer. When the third single from Look Sharp! , " The Look ", became another top 10 single in their home country, Roxette were still unknown internationally. While studying in Sweden an American exchange student from Minneapolis , Dean Cushman, heard "The Look" and brought

4176-549: The album's opening track and "Milk and Toast and Honey" were less successful. Roxette again went on tour, this time in Europe only, as concerts planned in South Africa were cancelled after the 11 September 2001 attacks . On reviewing their Löfbergs Lila Arena concert , Bjurman from Aftonbladet wrote, "Roxette succeed in all cases, to never leave the 80s." His review criticised Roxette's playlist , which consisted of some of their early hits. Johan Lindqvist from Göteborgs-Posten

4263-515: The albums Charm School , Travelling , and Good Karma . Fredriksson announced her retirement from touring in 2016 due to poor health, and died on 9 December 2019 due to complications stemming from her brain tumour diagnosis. Roxette is Sweden's second-best-selling music act, after ABBA . They sold between 75 and 80 million records worldwide, and are recognised as one of the highest-certified acts of all time in Germany, achieving sales of almost six million units. They had nineteen top 40 hits in

4350-487: The areas where the label must spend money on an act it has signed. The label usually absorbs these expenses, but in some artists' contracts, some of this money may be due back to the label, unless otherwise worded. Advances (upfront money that is paid directly to a recording artist) are normally always owed back to the label. Once (and if) the advance has been paid back from record sales, the artist then begins to see royalty payments for additional sales. Advancing an act money

4437-463: The award for Best Swedish Female. Later that year, Roxette released " It Must Have Been Love (Christmas For the Broken Hearted) ". The song was written by Gessle in response to the German division of EMI asking Gessle to "come up with an intelligent Christmas single." The track was a top five hit in Sweden. However, international divisions of EMI – including Germany – chose not to release the song as

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4524-432: The ballad " Queen of Rain " and an electrified version of the song "Fingertips", originally recorded acoustically for the album and re-titled " Fingertips '93 " for single release. Singles from Tourism barely dented the American radio and record charts but in the rest of the world, the first single "How Do You Do!", hit the top 5 in most European and South American countries. The album Tourism also charted well outside of

4611-730: The band's original name and in EP format in North America under the name Roxette—derived from the Dr. Feelgood song of the same name . Soon after, Fredriksson began releasing folk -based solo albums, beginning with Het vind (English: "Hot Wind") in 1984. Gessle also turned to solo work, releasing his second Swedish-language solo album, Scener (English: "Scenes"), in 1985, again featuring Fredriksson on background vocals. Fredriksson issued her second solo album, Den sjunde vågen (English: "The Seventh Wave"), in February 1986. "I remember that Per had written

4698-424: The catchiest melody more appealing." The album's success brought the duo two Rockbjörnen awards for Best Swedish Album and Best Swedish Group, the second time they had achieved that feat. The single " Joyride " became Roxette's first No. 1 in their home country. It also topped the charts in more than 25 countries around the world, including Germany, Australia and the US; it was their fourth and last No. 1 in

4785-525: The charts in a number of countries and became Roxette's best selling album. Their record company EMI invested almost 2 million dollars on promotion for the album, which stayed at No. 1 in Germany for 13 weeks, while staying on the US album chart for over a year. J.D. Considine of Rolling Stone magazine reviewed Joyride : "By emphasizing its sense of personality, Roxette delivers more than just well-constructed hooks; this music has heart, something that makes even

4872-456: The concept of pop rock, which blends pop and rock, is at odds with the typical conception of pop and rock as opposites. Auslander and several other scholars, such as Simon Frith and Grossberg, argue that pop music is often depicted as an inauthentic, cynical, "slickly commercial", and formulaic form of entertainment. In contrast, rock music is often heralded as an authentic, sincere, and anti-commercial form of music, which emphasizes songwriting by

4959-412: The decision to remain with the label that made her famous, or sign a deal with a company that was willing to pay her what she felt she was worth, she ultimately signed with RCA. The $ 20 million deal was the biggest recording contract at the time. Ross had signed with RCA for North America only. She signed a separate longterm contract with Capitol/EMI for international territories. That contractual amount

5046-572: The film before release, the producers re-requested "It Must Have Been Love", but Roxette had to remove the Christmas lyrics. Gessle and producer Clarence Öfwerman then took the old recording, had Fredriksson replace a single Christmas-reference line in the song and added some instrumentation and background vocal overlays. Though it was not the first single released from the soundtrack, "It Must Have Been Love" would prove to be Roxette's most successful single release. The song spent two weeks at No. 1 on

5133-614: The first non-native-English speaking artists to be featured on MTV 's Unplugged series, though the songs from the performance were never released on an official Unplugged album. In the same year, Roxette recorded and released " Almost Unreal ", a song originally slated for the film Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler . However, the song was moved to the soundtrack of the film based on the Nintendo video game Super Mario Bros. Supported by an expensive video and ultimately receiving respectable airplay, "Almost Unreal" managed to briefly reach

5220-447: The first place... Though the two have an edge on this album, they almost seem to have become a bit bored." Although Crash! Boom! Bang! saw chart success (No. 1 in Sweden, No. 2 in Germany and No. 3 in Australia and the UK), it sold fewer copies than had their previous albums, selling 5 million copies worldwide. EMI America were reluctant to release the album, and instead promoted

5307-509: The form of, rock music. Writer Johan Fornas views pop/rock as "one single, continuous genre field", rather than distinct categories. To the authors Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman, it is defined as an "upbeat variety of rock music" represented by artists and bands such as Andy Kim , the Bells , Paul McCartney , Lighthouse , and Peter Frampton . The term "pop" has been used since the early forties to refer to popular music in general, but in

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5394-524: The label released, and it became a hit. Summer then went back to recording for Geffen Records for her next project . The Mamas & the Papas were forced into a reunion, years after their 1968 breakup, by the letter of their Dunhill Records contract, which required one more album to be completed – which became 1971's People Like Us . Record companies will generally increase royalty rates or give artistic freedom to get acts to re-sign contracts with them once

5481-401: The label)", and that label in question may receive a percentage of sales through publishing . Labels typically own the copyright in the records their artists make, and also the master copies of those records. An exception is when a label makes a distribution deal with an artist; in this case, the artist, their manager, or another party may own the copyright (and masters), while the record

5568-481: The last Roxette release EMI issued in the US until Greatest Hits was released in 2011 on subsidiary label Capitol Records . The first single release from Crash! Boom! Bang! was " Sleeping in My Car ". The distortion guitar-heavy pop song, born out of anger and frustration of the album's grown up nature, reached No. 2 in Canada, as well as the top 10 in 7 European countries (including No. 1 in Sweden) as well as

5655-512: The lower end of the Billboard Hot 100 but charted highest in the UK reaching the top 10, the group's first time there since " Joyride " two years before. Roxette themselves were dismissive about the song, with Fredriksson saying it was "not one of our most inspired moments." On the other hand, Gessle stated: "I still like the song in a way... but if you wanted to make a parody of Roxette, it would probably sound something like this." To coincide with

5742-432: The merger of SBK , Chrysalis and EMI record companies, to form EMI Records Group North America. The resulting merger saw many personnel changes that resulted in a downturn in publicity for Roxette. Though Joyride was certified platinum< and made impressive worldwide sales, the subsequent singles from the album—the ballad " Spending My Time " and " Church of Your Heart "—failed to reach the heights of previous singles in

5829-491: The mid-1950s, it began to be used for a distinct genre, aimed at a youth market, often characterized as a softer alternative to rock and roll. In the aftermath of the British Invasion , from about 1967, it was increasingly used in opposition to the term rock, to describe a form that was more commercial, ephemeral and accessible. As of the 2010s, "guitar pop rock" and " indie rock " are roughly synonymous terms. " Jangle "

5916-437: The original deal has been fulfilled. Established acts may otherwise go where they see better opportunity. During 1980, Diana Ross released her album diana , which fulfilled her contract with Motown Records . The album spawned two US top ten hits (the #1 hit " Upside Down " and the #5 " I'm Coming Out ") as well as a UK top ten hit (" My Old Piano ", peaking at #5), and sold 10 million copies worldwide. Ross, however, felt she

6003-645: The outsize personality to be a diva like Whitney Houston , Mariah Carey , or Janet Jackson . They were far from the only guitar-based pop act on the airwaves in the '80s, but they came too late to be mentioned alongside Journey , Survivor , or REO Speedwagon , and they didn't have the rock legacy of Heart or Starship ." Chris Conaton from PopMatters reviewing Greatest Hits Pop rock Much pop and rock music has been very similar in sound, instrumentation and even lyrical content. The terms "pop rock" and " power pop " have been used to describe more commercially successful music that uses elements from, or

6090-458: The price of the CD was way below normal wholesale costs. Some stores refused to sell the albums published by EMI, with one major chain protesting by temporarily pulling all products from CEMA (EMI's distribution wing) out of its sales and ad campaigns. The duo's relations with EMI's North American subsidiary, which had never been smooth, collapsed after the release of this album. Crash! Boom! Bang! became

6177-520: The process. The " Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour " saw Roxette becoming the first Western band to be allowed to perform in China ( Workers' Indoor Arena , Beijing ) since Wham! in 1985. The procedure to get permission for this concert took over a year, and included self-censorship of lyrics. In 2008 they were ordered to pay 4.5 million kronor in unpaid taxes to the Swedish Tax Agency , for money earned during

6264-767: The release the duo did a small tour of The United States, performing at the Boston Mixfest and at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square . The single "Wish I Could Fly", included on the album, reached No. 27 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and No. 40 on the Adult Top 40 chart. Room Service followed in 2001, to a mixed response from critics. "Probably the best Roxette album since Joyride ," wrote Leslie Mathew of Allmusic, "Room Service

6351-430: The singers and bands, instrumental virtuosity, and a "real connection with the audience". Frith's analysis of the history of popular music from the 1950s to the 1980s has been criticized by B. J. Moore-Gilbert, who argues that Frith and other scholars have overemphasized the role of rock in the history of popular music by naming every new genre using the "rock" suffix. Thus, when a folk-oriented style of music developed in

6438-399: The top 15 in the UK, Australia and Germany. However, in the US, it was less successful, reaching only No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Subsequent releases-- the album's title selection , " Fireworks ", and " Run to You "—were less successful but managed to reach the charts in some countries. Roxette then embarked on another, albeit scaled-down, worldwide tour, skipping North America in

6525-511: The top 75, and peaked at No. 3 in the UK, the duo's highest singles chart position there. The soundtrack went on to be certified three times platinum by the RIAA . As 1990 wound down, Roxette completed their tour and returned to Sweden to record their follow-up to Look Sharp! The 15-track collection titled Joyride , which was released in March 1991, became a critical and commercial success. It topped

6612-501: Was around this time that Touchstone Pictures approached EMI and Roxette about contributing a song to the soundtrack of an upcoming film, Pretty Woman , starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts . Gessle maintained that " It Must Have Been Love ", by then a two-year-old recording, was chosen because Roxette had no time to compose and record a new song. The film's producers turned it down, asking for another song, but Gessle declined to produce another song. Some weeks later after re-editing

6699-459: Was going to be our biggest hit ever, which might have happened if not our American record company had fired a lot of...ah, never mind." "When Charles Koppelman took over the American [record] company in 1992 more than hundred people got replaced. Those folks who got sacked were the same people who made Roxette happen in 89-90-91." Gessle, on the downturn of Roxette in the US The end of 1991 saw

6786-458: Was impressed by Fredriksson's voice, and offered her a recording contract as a solo artist with the Swedish branch of EMI . However, she refused the deal, saying she "lacked the confidence" and was "too nervous" to be a solo artist. She then joined Lindbom's band as a backing vocalist for an extensive tour of Sweden. In 1984, Fredriksson recorded backing vocals for Gyllene Tider's debut English album The Heartland Café , released in Sweden under

6873-638: Was issued in 2022. In 2024, he announced the live reformation of Roxette, with Lena Philipsson on vocals. Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson had been friends since 1978. Both musicians had successful careers in Sweden in the early 1980s. Gessle was a member of Gyllene Tider , (English: Golden Age), whose first two albums each sold at least 150,000 copies in Sweden. In 1981, Fredriksson performed backing vocals on Gyllene Tider's song "Ingenting av vad du behöver" (English: "Nothing of What You Need"). The following year, Gessle invited Fredriksson to audition for Gyllene Tider's producer Lars-Göran "Lasse" Lindbom. Lindbom

6960-548: Was issued later in 1986. The album eventually sold over 280,000 copies in Sweden. "Neverending Love" and subsequent single " Soul Deep " were issued as singles internationally, but failed to chart outside Sweden. In 1987, Roxette issued Dance Passion , a remix album of songs from their debut, and embarked on "Rock runt riket" (English: "Rock Around the Kingdom"), a co-headlining tour of Sweden with Eva Dahlgren and Ratata . All three acts collaborated to record " I Want You ", which

7047-451: Was more positive, scoring their Munich concert four stars out of five. Roxette received an honorary award from the Swedish government at the February 2002 Grammis ceremony. On 11 September 2002, Fredriksson had an epileptic seizure and fractured her skull after collapsing in her bathroom. Following MRI scans , it was confirmed that Fredriksson had a brain tumour . The diagnosis led to the cancellation of Roxette's planned performance at

7134-420: Was never fairly compensated by Motown for her work with The Supremes or her solo releases. When RCA Records offered Ross $ 20 million to sign with them, she gave Motown the chance to match the deal, or at least offer something almost comparable. Motown, believing Ross's solo career was too up-and-down, and not seeing any reason to now compensate her for her earlier Supremes work, offered $ 3 million. Split with

7221-473: Was never officially released. However, it is believed to be as much as $ 20 more million and she has remained currently signed with them for over 30 years and has produced many more successful recordings internationally including her multi-platinum 1991 release, The Force Behind the Power and an even greater success with a greatest hits compilation, One Woman: The Ultimate Collection that sold over 1.5 million in

7308-413: Was not released there. In 2000, Fredriksson released a greatest hits compilation called Äntligen ( At Last ), which went on to be a big seller in Sweden, peaking at No. 1 for three weeks. Meanwhile, Roxette signed a US distribution deal with Edel Music , which re-released Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! In doing so, it replaced some non-US hits with songs from Have a Nice Day . To promote

7395-519: Was released as a non-album single in July. Fredriksson released her third solo album Efter stormen (English: "After the Storm") in October 1987. It was her most successful solo album to date, peaking at number one on the Swedish Albums Chart and being certified platinum by Swedish Recording Industry Association . It won Best Swedish Album at the 1987 Rockbjörnen awards, where Fredriksson also won

7482-410: Was released at the end of the year, entering the Hot 100 at the end of December. The single, a duet between Gessle and Fredriksson, spent two weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in February 1990, and again becoming a worldwide success by reaching the top 10 in important music markets such as Germany and Australia. "Dangerous" was released as a double A-side single in the UK with "Listen to Your Heart". It

7569-465: Was warned by friends and industry advisers to not participate with the project, fearing it may impact her burgeoning solo career. Gessle translated a song he wrote called "Svarta glas" (English: "Black Glasses") into English, which became their first single, " Neverending Love ". It was released in the summer of 1986 under the name Roxette, and the single sold over 50,000 copies in Sweden. Roxette quickly recorded their debut album Pearls of Passion , which

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